Heineken builds real-time mobile model

24 April 2013

AMSTERDAM: Heineken, the Dutch brewing giant, is developing a social media strategy that employs real-time marketing to target consumers on mobile devices.

One aspect of the firm's new approach will be developing real-time "second-screen" experiences. An example of this could be a Heineken-branded game aimed at consumers watching a sponsored event, like a match in the UEFA Champions League.

Another element of the new firm's new model is creating Facebook apps which can be used while on the move for brands like Strongbow cider.

"We're working on projects at the moment that are building on consumer behaviour rather than interrupting it," Jeremy Brook, head of digital strategy and media innovation at Heineken, told Marketing Week.

Brook also suggested that mobile was a "gamechanger", and offered marketers a chance to become part of the "conversation" with consumers.

More specifically, he reported that Heineken had been working with Google and Facebook, and through doing so learned that its target consumers were increasingly using multiple connected devices.

"This learning has made us look at how we build a capability around real-time marketing to make sure that adult drinkers want to have conversations with our brands," he said.

"We're also taking an inventive approach with how we develop apps," he added. "We're working on projects at the moment that are building on consumer behaviour rather than interrupting it."

On top of its partnerships with Google and Facebook, the company is considering using other social networks, and has forged links with Twitter to develop a video app to bolster its music sponsorship campaigns in the US.

It now plans to use Vine, the video-sharing platform owned by Twitter, in future marketing efforts.